Kai - Keeper of Keys - Bead Art Fish Necklace

Meet Kai, Keeper of Keys - a wonderfully whimsical, entirely hand-beaded little creature created one tiny bead at a time.

Kai is an intricate piece of sculptural beadwork, built from hundreds of seed beads in shimmering shades of cobalt blue, violet, lavender, silver, and iridescent glass. His dimensional body is covered with tiny details from every angle, including raised fins, textured beadwork, expressive eyes, and dangling glass accents. Even his underside is completely finished in woven beadwork.

And then there is his mouth.

Kai appears to be holding a blue cat’s-eye glass bead - a quirky little detail that gives him an unmistakable personality and inspired his original name, “Keeper of Keys.” Rather than simply being a pendant, he feels almost like a tiny character who happens to be wearable.

Details

• Necklace Length: 19 inches
• Beaded Fish Pendant: Approximately 1" wide × 2" long
• Materials: Glass seed beads, Swarovski crystals, glass beads, and metal accents
• Technique: Dimensional handwoven beadwork
• Created: July 2013
• Design: One of a kind

Created in July 2013, Kai represents a particularly experimental period in my beadwork, when I was exploring dimensional bead weaving and treating beads almost like a sculptural medium. The necklace itself continues the color palette with silver-lined seed beads, Swarovski crystals, and decorative metal accents, allowing Kai to remain the unmistakable centerpiece.

This is not a design I reproduce. Kai is a true one-of-a-kind piece of bead art, created by jewelry designer Stephanie A. White.

Created for someone who appreciates artisan jewelry, intricate bead weaving, and wearable art that is decidedly different from anything mass produced, Kai is as much a miniature work of bead art as he is a necklace.

Photographed in natural indirect light to capture the colors and dimensional details as accurately as possible. Iridescent and reflective glass beads may appear slightly different depending on lighting, viewing angle, and monitor or device settings.